A New Beginning
by Vulpine Procyonid Wolf-Thing
Summary: Short Oneshot. Rose has been depressed since going to her new home, especially since that day on the beach. But she doesn't know her life is about to change again...[RxD ish, Rated just to be on the extremely safe side.]


**Warning: This was written the day after _'Army of Ghosts'_ and _'Doomsday' _aired in America; therefore major spoilers for both eps.  
Anyway:**

**Disclaimer: I own _nothing_. Not even the current (David Tennant) Doctor, or the TARDIS. –cries- If I did, I wouldn't exactly be sitting by my computer, on _Earth, _writing silly little one-shots, now would I?**

**But I do own my weird little imagination, so please don't steal. **

Rose Tyler was walking down the street. It doesn't really matter which street, it didn't to her. She was on her way home, down an average street, after an average day. It had been six months, give or take a day or two, since that day on the beach. That was when everything had changed. No more traveling. No more zipping off to the farthest reaches of space and time for no better reason than to see what was out there. No more adventures…not like that anyway. No, nothing was the same. That was the day she had died. She had broken a promise she'd hoped to keep for as long as said promise was—'_Forever.'_

She'd promised to stay with him forever. But sometimes life doesn't go how you plan. She knew he'd want her to be happy…and so she tried. But her mind kept drifting back to that last moment on the beach…and what he would have said. She knew, she was sure she did…but it would have felt so much better to hear him say it, just once. Or maybe hearing it would have made her feel ten times worse. She wasn't really sure. But she told herself she had to move on. And so, she kept trying.

She tried to put on a happy face for her family. She was getting better at it, too. But that didn't mean she didn't still cry a bit at night. And have dreams…not real ones, of course, like the one which had led her to that beach. Just her own, private dreams, about where she'd be, and who she'd be with if things had gone just a little bit differently.

But…life went on. It had to. And, a lot of things were good. Her parents were together, which was great although admittedly her father _was_ from a different universe than her mother.

She also, as the Doctor had mentioned, still had Mickey. She and Mickey were…well actually at the moment she wasn't really sure _what _she and Mickey were, but she supposed it was better than nothing. And working for this version of Torchwood wasn't half bad. It was, she had to admit, a step up from her old life in the shop, and she tried to use this to convince herself that she was, in fact, better off than if none of this had happened at all. It almost worked.

Sometimes working with _Torchwood_ made her wonder, but she hadn't quite gotten up the courage to ask for a straight answer…but…Torchwood _started_ because of the Doctor, right? At least in her universe... She wondered about this, but she couldn't quite let herself form the _exact_ thoughts.

As she let her mind start to wander back to this, for the approximately millionth time, she forgot to pay attention to exactly what average looking corner she turned. And that little thing, it turns out, made all the difference…

As she walked along, something jogged her out of these thoughts, and, as it happened, into much more hopeful ones.

It was a sound she would have recognized anywhere, however long it had been…even though she'd never expected to hear it again. Without a second thought, she dashed forward, turned another corner and…stopped. She stopped and stared ahead of her, hoping to any gods (or demi-gods, would-be gods, or wannabe gods) that she wasn't hallucinating or dreaming.

Just as she glimpsed it, it faded in fully. A blue police box. A simple little thing, somewhat out-of-place, but nonetheless, most people would have passed it by. But not _Rose. _Rose knew what it was…She stayed rooted the spot, staring, in shock.

And, after what felt like a very, very long time, the door opened.

The Doctor stepped out, from the door which happened to be facing at a right angle away from her, meaning he didn't notice her right off. She stared for a few seconds longer.

It was _him._ it was the _Doctor_, with the second face she'd known him with, as well. In fact, the man, -for lack of a better word, considering he wasn't human- who stepped out of the TARDIS looked exactly like when she had seen him for what she had thought had been the last time. She didn't give it a second though—wouldn't _let _herself give it a second thought; because if she _had_ given it a second though, she might have stopped herself. And as much as she might regret what she was about to do, she knew she would regret not trying all the more.

Rose ran forward. In a matter of seconds she had barreled into the Doctor, knocking him a couple of feet backward, but not _quite _making him lose his balance enough to fall. She wrapped her arms around him tightly, tears streaming down her face as she snuggled into his chest.

"Doctor…Oh…Doctor!"

But then, she heard the absolute last thing she wanted to hear.

"Who…Are you?" She pulled away slightly, and looked into his eyes, which showed real confusion. Even _he_ wouldn't joke like this. She had known, in some part of her mind, that this was the most likely possibility. And yet she had forced herself not to even form the thought until that second. After a slight, pause, with her voice quavering, she said:

"You're not…_my _Doctor… are you?" Still his only response betrayed nothing but confusion.

"Do I…know you?"

Rose pulled away slightly more, blushing red now as well as her eyes still glistening. She tried to put the words in the right order to explain, but it still came out a bit of a mess.  
"Yes…Well you don't, but you _did. _Well obviously _you_ didn't, but…My Doctor…That is…the Doctor in a-a parallel universe, you'd know all about that, right? I traveled with y-_him. _In the TARDIS… We went…everywhere…we saved the world…and I promised him I'd—But anyway, now I'm stuck here, and he's not here, because he said it would…destroy the universe… and I saw you and well…I…thought…maybe…he'd…or…maybe…welll…" She trailed off, feeling somewhat ridiculous. After a few seconds, she sighed, turned her face away slightly, and whispered—well, barely more than mouthed,

"…I loved him…"

She wasn't sure if the Docter heard that part or not, but it wasn't as if she'd repeat it. Suddenly, the—_this _Doctor placed his hands lightly on her shoulders and held her at arms length for a moment, staring into her eyes. It lasted only a few seconds, but for Rose that felt like years.

And then, seeming to have reached a decision, the Doctor grinned, that oh-so-familiar-and-adorable grin of his, and, eyes sparkling, said the absolute best thing Rose could hear at that point.

"…Come with me?"

It wasn't as if she could say _no_. And so Rose Tyler died to one world, but her story wasn't over. Her adventures continued. She once again, went anywhere and everywhere (and when) she and the Doctor pleased, at a moments notice. Life wasn't back to normal, but when any version of the Doctor is involved, what's normal? Rose was happy, and the journeys went on. Only this time there were a lot of late nights spent in the TARDIS, in which Rose told stories of a very similar and yet very different universe.

**A/N:**

**Hey there. What did you think? I put like…no thought into this. I just had all the words in my head after watching _'Doomsday'_ for the second time, and sniffling at the **

**Rose: "-sob- I love you…" **

**Doctor: "Quite right too. I suppose this is the last chance to say it so…Rose Tyler, I—" -goes poof- scene. **

**x-x so sad…**

**And I just wrote it down. Therefore, don't blame me. Take any issues up with my Muse (front desk, third floor of my brain). XD**

**Anyway, my only real thought processes went "Well if there's an AU _Torchwood_ then…" and "Well if Jackie and an AU Pete worked then…" and then I had the whole thing. I'm not sure if I'm very happy with it…I'm worried this Doctor accepted her a bit too quickly/easily, but…he is known to be spontaneous like that, ne? **

**Why is he the David T. Doctor, not Christopher E. or an entirely different appearance/incarnation, you ask? Because the Crazy-Author-Girl wouldn't have it any other way. -.-**

**As for why he was there, well…she was coming out of _AU Torchwood_, so it makes sense he could have had some business there. Why did they meet up? FATE. Stop asking questions. --.--;;**

**Anyway, I keep hoping Rose will come back in somehow…(Can anyone tell me if they know if Billie Piper quit, was laid off, or..?) But otherwise, I think this is the best ending for Rose possible, sticking to the canon rules that any more travel between universes would destroy them both. Not perfect, but better than leaving it as-was. **

**Please R+R. No flames though, or I'll send that Dalek that got away (did anyone else notice that? XD) after you! -.- **

**Hehe…Errr…R+R and I'll give you cookies, that's what I meant. **


End file.
